Forget those mint-scented garbage bags that keep away rats, those aren't going to let your neighbors know how ridiculously wealthy you are—what will, are these Louis Vuitton garbage bags. They're not new to the market (Kanye was all over this ish back in February), but they did land on Curbed today in a designer-branded product post—meaning they're still around, meaning there's a market for these things (and yes, they've been spotted in NYC). more ›

Harlem rapper Jim Jones headed to court yesterday following an alleged physical assault on someone at the 5th Avenue Louis Vuitton store late last year. Not just anyone, ahem, some pal of an R&B star called Ne-Yo and the younger brother of rapper Jay-Z's road manager, reports The Daily News. Why is it that court dates always coincide with album drops? The paper also notes that his solo album hit stores yesterday, and he performed at Virgin Megastore hours after standing before a judge to reject a plea deal. Instead of taking 10 days of community service for the incident, the case will now go to trial on April 21st. His lawyer maintains that the other guy started it. more ›

© MURAKAMI, a retrospective of the work of Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, opens Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum. Organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles, where it was on view until February, the exhibit primarily focuses Murakami's work between 1991 and 2000, when the artist began exploring "his own reality through an investigation of branding and identity." (One additional work, Murakami's 6,613 pound, 18 foot-tall Oval Buddha sculpture, will be on view at the Sculpture Garden at 590 Madison Avenue at 56th Street.) more ›

Tonight marks the beginning of the Film Society at Lincoln Center's 45th annual New York Film Festival and oh what a jam-packed fest it is. A panel of film critics chose 30 of the best new international movies to show to New York's discerning audiences and they picked hometown director Wes Anderson's newest, (which also comes out in theaters this weekend) to open the festival. more ›

Cops seized 160,000 pairs of counterfeit Nike shoes from six locations in Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island after conducting a multi-year investigation to disrupt pirated merchandise. The New York Sun reports that it was one of the largest busts of counterfeit goods in US history and one of four recent successful operations that targeted purveyors of fake Microsoft, Motorola, and Nike products. The haul of bogus shoes was reportedly worth $7.1 million. more ›

Just when you thought the story about Foxy Brown being robbed by her pimp ex-boyfriend's friends couldn't get more crazy, now it does. The Brooklyn native claims she was never robbed and that she wasn't even in Brooklyn at the time of the alleged attack. She said, "A lot of the time, people mistake me for someone else, or people always call in these false tips." more ›

After being sentenced to a week of community service mopping floors at a Department of Sanitation warehouse on the Lower East Side, Naomi Campbell has embarked on the other part of her reformation. As part of her plea deal for striking her housekeeper with a rhinestone-encrusted cellphone, Campbell must also complete two anger management classes. And it seems she completed the first one yesterday. more ›

As 2006 ends and 2007 begins, the -ists look back not at the past week, but at the past year. So here it is, your Best of 2006 Spectacular. And from all of us at the -ists, happy New Year! more ›

Today, the NY Times Thursday Styles section looks at two popular accessories: The tiny, teacup dog and the huge, monstrous hobo totes. Many women love little dogs, especially since their little dogs can be dressed in little designer outfits. And many women love their big purses because they can carry everything, even if they are suffering back and shoulder pain as a result. We are surprised that the area of intersection for these two topics - teeny dogs in big bags - was not exploited. What kind of back pain do women who carry their dogs around have? Are they putting their dogs in hobo bags? And do women with big bags and teeny dogs consider getting their dogs hobo bags for canines? more ›

Yesterday, the holiday windows for Louis Vuitton were unveiled and no perfect-for-fashionistas monogrammed bags were on the display. Instead, huge lamps peering out onto the street are in the windows, in a work designed by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. Eliasson, who frequently uses lights and lamps (he designed the Weather Project that was a sensation at the Tate Modern in 2004), explained the holiday windows work, Eye See You, in the LVMH magazine:

"Essentially, what I have created is a lamp shaped like the pupil of an eye looking out of the window, but which, at the same time, is a mirror. When you stand in front of the window, you see a reflection of yourself looking into this eye. (…) The only sense that is transgressing the glass is your sense of sight and your desire. When it is dark the lamp will illuminate anyone looking into the window. If people look through the window at the Eye See You lamp, they are illuminated – and that is a nice metaphor, because the products that Louis Vuitton offers to some degree promise to put the consumer in the spotlight."

Ah, spring... time to clean out the closets, put away the winter duvet and, yes, time to stow away that black bag and bring on the color. This spring, it is all about color and pattern. And size definitely matters. While those teeny tiny clutches can be cute, Gothamist needs the cavernous capabilities of a serious tote. Okay, with all the bag snatching going on, you may be better off with a clutch. For many of us though, that just isn't convenient. Lucky for us, big bags are in! more ›

DCist helps us make more sense of the world this week. Posts like this concert review are the reason for Scott Stapp. DCist also enumerates the reasons for playing ultimate frisbee, Condi’s tight buns, their love of a local convenience store, and their jealousy of a person in Seattle calling the city. more ›

what tourists want to see - they want fakes, not the real thing. This came about because Louis Vuitton, perhaps the most knocked-off brand around (get some brown plasticky material, an "L" and a "V" and mustard dye and you're set!), sued landlords in Chinatown. The NY Times ">profiled a counterfeit inspector from Louis Vuitton, who saw many women carrying garbage bags full of fake LV bags; we love the idea of some spiffily dressed LV suit rubbing shoulders with folks in Chinatown - though he'd probably dress down so as not to be detected. And the Downtown Express noticed how counterfeit handbag vendors on Canal Street are moving the inventory to backrooms , in order to avoid police detection, all while quietly muttering, “Handbag Chanel Coach Louis Vuitton Prada inside.” more ›

The NY Post puts the mug of a puggle - a mix between a pug and a beagle - on the cover, saying that this accidental breed is the hottest in the city. Metro Puppy Kennels owner Brian Incovaia says, "Everyone is clawing for them, it's ridiculous. I get people calling left and right for them and basically you get the equivalent of breeding a Marc Jacobs bag with a Louis Vuitton." Well, that's a problem right there, thinking that a dog is like a purse. But anyway, the dogs, which cost along the lines of a bigger Marc Jacobs bag (from $650-900), are popular because they are small enough for Manhattan apartments. And that answers the American Kennel Club's question, "What is the purpose of a puggle?" The AKC says other cross breeds were designed to help out with herding, but clearly, these days cross breeding is all about having a tiny dog for your shoebox apartment or whichever designer dog carrier you want to buy. But people, there are tons of dogs in city shelters that need your attention, so look there first! more ›

Just in time for tonight's Critical Mass bike ride, it turns out that rapper Foxy Brown may have hit two bicyclists during the pre-Republican National Convention August ride last year. Her former friend, Ayesha Quattara, says that Brown blamed her for driving a Land Rover on West Houston Street, while it was really Foxy behind the wheel. Apparently the women were trying to get from one Louis Vuitton store to another before it closed since Brown wanted to buy something. Please! We know the Takashi Murakami bags are really cute, but you don't go hitting bikers to get to them. Matthew Campau and Robert Herschenfeld were hit by the Rover, as Brown allegedly yelled at them. While Newsday wouldn't publish what she allegedly said, the Post did:

"Get out of my way, you dumb white faggots!" Herschenfeld said she screamed. more ›

Why do bodegas insist on putting everything in a brown bag, and what's with sometimes putting one item and its brown bag inside a plastic bag? more ›

Gothamist, being a dork, is just looking for a cool laptop bag, like some of the stuff at Flight 001. Look for some of the hot bags for less on BlueFly and eBay. And what bags do you like? more ›

NYC Comptroller William Thompson says that New Yorkers are losing more than $1 billion in taxes because of the counterfeit trade (here's a PDF of the report, "Bootleg Billions"). And taxing counterfeit bags or DVDs is not part of the solution. And the best counterfeit story we've heard is that the knock-offs of those basic, black Kate Spade bags are so good (or the real ones are that shoddy) that some women have gone to department stores, returning the fake Kate Spade bags for refunds, leaving the buyers to find out what happened much later. more ›

Jen Bekman, Gallery Owner more ›

Hermes is celebrating the subway's centennial with the card holder as well as a gorgeous exhibit of photographer Bruce Davidson's works at their boutique. more ›

There is a great brandchannel article about the counterfeit purse business, which reports that two 18year–olds who held a counterfeit purse party (the new black of Tupperware parties, we guess) were arrested. more ›

The latest TV guilty pleasure is Newlyweds, MTV's glimpse into the marriage of pop singers, Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, which Gothamist covered a while back. The Post looked at the show, which is the new darling of MTV, outpacing The Osbournes these days (but not The Real World Paris, which boggles our mind, because RW Paris sucks), mainly because this marriage made in publicity and artist management heaven seems based on all the wrong things. And the fact that it's always fun to laugh at people better-looking and more wealthy than us for the good, old fashioned reason, "They are so very, very stupid." Like Jessica taking her Takashi Murakami-designed Louis Vuitton bag on the camping trip. Jessica, you're killing us! Addtionally, people are taking bets as to how long the Simpson-Lachey union will last; Gothamist says it will last as long as Nick stays interested in Jessica physically, 'cause that seems to be the only reason why they're together now. But we hope the show stays on, because we love hating them. more ›

After noticing our interest in Takashi Murakami, Greg of greg.org invited Gothamist to check out the Murakami installation at Rockefeller Center. We happily accepted and headed over to midtown with Peter Rojas. The huge 30-foot ballons were strung over the rink, and the main sculpture was flanked by smaller areas of mushroom-toadstool growths. It's dramatic in a very different way from Puppy or the Spiders; there is a lot of visual information, with the colorful, complicated forms, as well as details that are enjoyed up close. When Takashi Murakami arrived, he spent some time inspecting the artworks, and told us that he needed to come back and fix some areas. Gothamist was most amused when more than a few blonde women went up to take pictures with him; we're pretty sure it's all because of the Louis Vuitton collection. more ›

Murakami at Rockefeller Center
Debate over the Japanese pop artist. Is it art? Is it silly? Is it any good?
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